Waterford Shoppers Asked to ‘Shop and Drop’ on Saturday

The Chairperson of the Green Party in Waterford is hoping that shoppers will join a protest against plastic at their local supermarket this weekend.

The demonstration’s taking place this Saturday and involves people leaving behind excessive packaging at the till when they buy their goods.

It’s being organised by Friends of the Earth Ireland. Full details on the campaign and how to get involved can be found here

Marc Ó Cathasaigh, Chairperson of the Green Party in Waterford, will be taking part in the campaign and welcomes it as a positive move. “As a consumer, it can be very hard to get away from plastic packaging, much of which is no longer being accepted in people’s recycling bin. This puts the responsibility and the cost of dealing with this sea of waste on the customer. The ‘Shop and Drop’ campaign will throw the focus back onto the producers to put pressure on them to cut the waste at source.”

Mr. Ó Cathasaigh says the campaign is a timely one. “I think the Blue Planet series brought home to people the scale of the plastics problem we face. We’ve approached a number of supermarkets around the county ahead of this day of action, and we’ve received a very positive response.”

Green Party Senator Grace O’Sullivan is hoping that the people of Waterford will come out to support the campaign next Saturday. “We know now that this problem needs more than just action by individuals – we need producers and retailers to think differently about how we use plastic packaging. The Green Party’s Waste Reduction bill is working its way through the Oireachtas at the moment, but it’s grass roots campaigns like this that keep the pressure on the politicians in Leinster House.”